Newsline

Traveling Hawks Come Home With Victory

One conference game, then off to weekend tourney in Boston

Release Date:

February 23, 2010

Contact:

The Office of Sports Information

(716) 649-7900 ext. 333

UTICA, NY then BEVERLY, MA – The Hilbert College men’s volleyball team took the road this weekend after missing a weekend of play due to the east coast snow storm the weekend before. On February 19th, the Hawks played their second conference game at SUNYIT (Utica, NY). This meeting between the two clubs went as expected: very competitive sets with every point counting. The host team pulled the match from the Hawks 3-1 (28-30, 30-28, 30-26, and 30-22). Three juniors were busy at the net keeping SUNYIT on their toes. Outside hitter Dan Wolfe (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) led with 21 kills and 19 digs, RJ Sykora (Stow, OH/Munroe Falls) contributed 17 kills on top of Eric Davies (Tonawanda, NY/Tonawanda) 10 kills. The front line was gifted by Vince Amico (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon-St. Jude) 50 assists. Getting involved in the defense was Adam Clabo (North Tonawanda, NY/Niagara Wheatfield) who moved into position for 14 digs. SUNYIT’s middle hitter Jeffery Coon earned .412 hitting percentage off of 29 kills in 51 attempts.

After the SUNYIT match, the team got on the bus and headed east to Boston. On Saturday and Sunday, February 21, and 22, they took part in the 10- team Endicott College Invitational tourney. Saturday found the team up against two tough teams: Endicott College and Emmanuel College.

Endicott got eight kills in just two sets from senior John Emery (Westford, Mass) as the Gulls rolled over Hilbert College, 3-0 in the opening game of the 2010 Endicott Invitational Tournament held on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass.

The Gulls, who used set scores of 30-10, 30-9, and 30-18 in the sweep, also got five kills and seven blocks in two sets from senior A.J. Witkofsky (Burnt Hill, NY). BJ Worth (Londonderry, NH) had five kills while Ben Foster (Penfiled, NY) notched 25 assists.

Emmanuel College received nine kills from Alex McKeen (Stoughton, Mass.) and eight kills apiece from Alex Petty (Wayland, Mass.) and Matt Salvi (Trumbull, Conn.) as the Saints defeated Hilbert College, 3-0. EC also received 38 assists from Nick Updike (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) while McKeen added eight digs and Jim Sutherland (Concord, Calif.) recorded six digs of his own in three games played. Alex Petty and Zach Caron (Hope, R.I.) combined for eight total blocks in the win.

Hilbert College was led by 11 kills from RJ Sykora and 7 kills from Dan Wolfe. Vince Amico added 23 assists and team leading 9 digs while Adam Clabo chipped in with 7 digs.

On Sunday, the Hawks continued into Pool play with their first opponent of the morning being New Jersey City University.

Hilbert was led by Dan Wolfe’s 12 kills and 19 digs. Vince Amico had 30 assists to go along with his 11 digs while RJ Sykora had 17 digs, seven kills, 3 solo blocks and 4 service aces for the Hawks. Eric Davies was busy at the net too earning 4 solo blocks for the match.

After the morning game, the Hawks regrouped and were ready to face SUNYIT for the third time this season. This time, they pulled the victory off and their hard work is beginning to show!

For the first time since starting the Endicott Invitational Tournament nine years ago, the Endicott College Gulls captured the tournament title by posting a perfect 4-0 weekend record that was capped off by a thrilling 3-2 win over MIT. Eleven players were chosen to an All Tournament team with the MVP award going to Endicott’s senior middle blocker A.J Witkofsky. Hilbert’s junior outside hitter, Dan Wolfe was named to the Honorable Mention team after compiling 42 kills, 47 digs, and 7 blocks total.

The four remaining NECVA West Division conference games are Medaille College (Away - Feb. 25), Nazareth College (Away - March 3), Nazareth College (Home - March 9) and D'Youville College (Away - March 10). With the continued improvement in play and hitting/setting, the Hawks encourage all fans and friends to travel to the remaining games on their schedule for support. The extra bodies in the stands bring encouragement and energy to the squad as they fight cross-town rivals and Nazareth College before NECVA play offs begin Mid-March.

Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 1,100 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college’s engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship, and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. The Hilbert Blueprint promotes a well-rounded student experience over four years – starting with the Foundations Seminar in the freshman year, followed by Sophomore Service, Junior Symposium, and culminating with the Senior Capstone. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college’s first graduate programs and new Accelerated Degree Programs geared to adult learners.